In the first half of this year, the total value of Guangxi's foreign trade imports and exports hit 339 billion yuan ($47 billion), surging 43.2 percent year-on-year.

The performance of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was 41.1 percentage points higher than the national average and 39.7 percentage points higher than the country's western region, according to officials speaking at a recent news conference.

The Chongzuo area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ). [Photo/WeChat account: gh_df8bc987e060]

In the six months, 3,815 enterprises were operating in the field of imports and exports in Guangxi, 406 more than last year. Of these, 3,418 were private enterprises, accounting for 89.6 percent of the total import and export businesses.

The total value of imports and exports in Guangxi leaped to 626 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 126.3 percent. Of that, the value of imports and exports in June alone was 101.5 billion yuan, up 34.5 percent.

Guangxi's imports and exports to the ASEAN regional trading bloc in the first half of this year reached 161.38 billion yuan, up 92.6 percent year-on-year.

At the same time, Guangxi's auto companies accelerated their move into the ASEAN market and the exports of related products continued to grow. In the first half of this year, the autonomous region exported 1.5-billion-yuan worth of auto parts and 710-million-yuan worth of electric manned vehicles to ASEAN, an increase of 36.9 percent and 106.8 times respectively.

At present, the Guangxi and ASEAN paper industry supply chain is on the rise. In the first half, Guangxi imported 1.17-billion-yuan worth of pulp from ASEAN, an increase of 9.4 percent. The exports of paper and their products totaled 1.27 billion yuan, rising 49 percent.

During the same period, the value of imports and exports of Guangxi's equipment manufacturing industry and consumer goods manufacturing industry reached 130.5 billion yuan and 42.13 billion yuan, gaining by 44.1 percent and 66.1 percent, respectively, compared with the same period of last year.

The mining industry and raw materials manufacturing industry also turned in a sound performance. The value of their imports and exports totaled 68.7 billion yuan and 30.14 billion yuan, increasing by 16.4 percent and 43.7 percent respectively.

Guangxi's electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar panels maintained particularly strong growth in exports, totaling 5.95 billion yuan in the six months, a whopping improvement of 289.2 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of the year, 11 cities in Guangxi achieved positive growth in foreign trade. Of these, Chongzuo, Nanning and Fangchenggang were ranked in the top three in terms of the value of their imports and exports, bringing in 111.79 billion yuan, 64.27 billion yuan and 48.01 billion yuan, respectively.